Damascus - A mother and her child were killed when a four-storey building collapsed in a slum in northern Syria, the official Tishreen daily reported Sunday.

Two other women were injured when the building in an informal settlement in the north-eastern province of Latakia collapsed on Saturday, the paper said.

The governor of the province said he would form a special committee to investigate the case.

More than 35 per cent of Syrians live in informal housing, often ramshackle structures, according to a government study published in May.(dpa)